Method of making insulators



Jan. 15, 1929. 1,699,063

K. A. HAWLEY METHOD OF MAKING I'NSULATORS Filed March 25, 1927 tillPatented Jan. 15, 19.29.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KENT A. HAWLEY, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR T0 LOClEEE INSULATOR COB-IOBA'IION, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A CORPORATION OF TtYLAND.

v METEOID OF MAKING INSULATORS.

Applioation'filed March 25, 1927. Serial No. 178,339.

The invention relates to porcelain insulators and has particularreference to a method of assembling.

The object of the invention, generally stated, is to provide a novelmeans for assembling insulators, particularly those of the typeembodying a central body or shank carrying one or more skirts.

It is well known that manufacturing ditficulties are encountered in themaking of insulators of that type wherein there is provided a centralbody, stem or shank carrying a plurality of skirts and equipped at itsends with suspension elements. The difficulties experienced areproportionate to the size of the insulator and it is not ordinarilyconsidered feasible to form such an insulator as a single piece owing tothe likelihood of warping during drying and firing. For this reason ithas been found advisable to form the skirt members separately and thenattach them to the body or shank. Various expedients have been resortedto in the endeavor to obtain a proper union. While it is not necessaryat this time to set forth what the usual methods ordinarily consist ofor what special means has been adopted in some cases, it is pointed outthat the joints obtained are not necessarily perfect notwithstanding thefact that the methods of securing are expensive and laborious.

lit is with the above facts in view that I 1 have designed the presentinvention which has for a more specific object the provision of a methodof assembling whereby the material of the skirt and the body or shankWlll be caused to unite to form in effect a homogeneous whole having thesame characteristics and advanta es of an integral structure without thedisadvantages thereof.

Still more specifically, the ob ect of the invention is to provide anassembling method involving the employment of clay slip injected orotherwise applied at the joint between the shank or body and the skirtswhile the latter are in a somewhat plastic condition, it having beenfound that the interposed ring-like mass of clay slip will actuallyunite with the skirt and the shank or body so that it a completedinsulator constructed or assembled in this manner were tobe out orbroken, no line of demarkation would be visible at the original joint.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an assembling methodwhich will be simple and inexpensive to carry out and wh ch will resultin the production of s11- perior insulators at a much lower cost thanhas been heretofore possible.

To the attainment of the above objects and advantages the inventionpreferably consists in the detailed steps to be hereinafter more fullydescribed and claimed, and illustrated 1n the accompanying drawing inwhich:-

F 1gure 1 is a view partly in vertical longitudinal section, and partlyin elevation, showmg the body or shank and skirts arranged prel minaryto uniting thereof, and

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the completed insulator.

Referring more particularly to the draw mg, the numeral 1 designates theelongated body or shank and the numerals 2 and 3 to the skirts to besecured upon the body or shank.- In the present instance the body isrepresented asof considerably elongated form and two skirts are shown.It should, however, be understood that there are no limitations in thisrespect as the method, broadly considered, is capable of being carriedout in connection with insulators of other ty es having an outstandingskirt. The particular variety disclosed is well adapted for purposes ofillustration and is chosen for that reason. In the present instance thebody is shown as terminating in preferably tapered and groovedextensions at and 5 upon which suspension cap members 6 and 7 areadapted to be secured in the usual or any preferred manner. Inwardly ofthe tapered ends the body is formed with frusto-conical portions 8 and 9located at thep'laces Where the skirts are to be applied. These seats ortapered portions are represented as inclined in opposite directionsinasmuch as it is necessary to place the skirts upon the body from theopposite ends thereof.

In the carrying out of the method some suitable support, such as thatdisclosed at 10, must be provided for holding the body or shank 1 inupright position and for holding the skirt 3 in its proper relation tothe body. For this reason the support 10 may be formed with a socket 11which receives one end of the body, and has'its upper surface 12concaved to conform to the curvature of the skirt. To hold the skirt 2in proper position, use may be made of a support 13 carried by an arm 14or the like, this support having a concaved upper surface 15 conformingto the curvature of the skirt 2 and having a slot 16 of a diameter notless than that of the body so that the support may be removed from theinsulator after assembly thereof.

The skirts 2 and 3 are formed with openings 17 aid 18 respectively forthe accommodation or passage of the body or shank and these openings areof such size and shape that the walls thereof will incline with respectto the surfaces of the frusto-conical or tapered portions 8 and 9 of thebody. In other words the opening in the skirt 2 is such that itssmallest diameter is at the top surface, this being the bottom surfacein Figure 1 inasmuch as the insulator is inverted, and of sub stantiallythe same diameter as the body at the shoulder 19 located at the junctureof the frusto-conical portion 8 with the central portion of the body. Itis conceivable that the opening may be a little less in diameter thanthe body at said shoulder so that when the skirt is slipped onto thefrusto-conical portion 8 it may seat firmly thereon, there being noactual space betwen the skirt and the body at the shoulder 19.

The opening 18 in the skirt 3 has its smallest diameter at the top, thebottom in Figure 1 which shows it inverted, so that when the body isinserted within the skirt there will preferably be a close fit. Theopening 17 in the skirt 2 may be cylindrical whereas the opening in theskirt 3 is represented as frustoconical with its largest diametergreater than that of the body at the shoulder 20 located at the junctureof the frusto-conical portion 9 with'the central portion. The effect ofthe above is that there will be a space between the frusto-conicalsurface 8 and thewall of the opening 17 in the skirt 2 and, similarly, aspace between the frusto-conical portion 9 and the wall of the opening18 in the skirt 3, the s ace being wedge shaped in cross section anddaring upwardly.

Assuming that the body and skirts have been prepared in a manner wellunderstood so as to possess. the above characteristics, andfurther-assuming that the parts have been supported as shown or in someequivalent manner to hold them in the proper relative positions, thenext step is the injection or other application of clay slip within thespaces between the frusto-conical portions or surfaces of the body andthe walls of the openings in the skirts. All of the above is carried outwhile the insulator parts are in a somewhat plastic condition and I havefound that the union of the slip with the skirts and body is facilitatedby initially wetting the walls of the openings and the frnsto-conicalportions 8 and 9, the wet hands on the latter extending from theshoulders 19 and 20 to the dotted lines 21 and 22. l have found thatafter the clay slip has been applied and the assembly permitted to standfor a certain length of time perfect union is effected at the jointswithout any necessity for agitation or relative movement of the parts toeffect setting though, if desired, more or less slight vibration of theassembly might be resorted to to hasten settling of the slip within thespaces. After the insulator has stood for a suliicient time to becomebone dry it is glazed, fired and otherwise treated in the usual manner,sub sequently to which the caps 5 and 6, or their equivalent, areapplied.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawing it will beapparent that I have thus provided an extremely simple method ofassembling insulators, the advantages being of particular note inconnection with insulators of the multiple skirt type. There is nonecessity for cementing or otherwise similarly securing the elementstogether after firing, as is the usual practice. Furthermore this methodavoids the disadvantages which are always present in case it isattempted to make such insulators in a single piece. In actual practiceI have discovered that if an insulator constructed in this manner bebroken there will be no line of demarcation showing at the jointsbetween the skirts and the body, the entire mass being of a homogeneouscharacter as if originally made in one plece.

While I have shown and described the pre ferred embodiment of theinvention and the detailed successive steps involved in the method, itshould be understood that the disclosure is simply for purposes ofillustration as it is conceivable that various details may be changedwithout in any way departing from the spirit of'the invention and theright is reserved to make all such modifications as will not constitutea departure from the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described the invention, 1 claim:

1. The method of assembling a skirt upon the body of a porcelaininsulator while in plastic condition, consisting in placing the skirtabout the body, and causing union of the material at the joint.

2. The method of assembling a skirt upon the body of a porcelaininsulator while in plastic condition, consisting in placing the skirtabout the body, and causing union of the material at the joint byfilling the space between the skirt and the body with clay slip.

3. The method of assembling a skirt upon the body of a porcelaininsulator while in plastic condition, the skirt having an opening forthe accommodation of the body, comprising placing the skirt upon thebody and applying clay slip between the body and the wall of theopening. the slip uniting with the material of the skirt and body andforming a homogeneous mass as if integral therewith.

4-. The method of assembling an insulator ltlli g a body and a skirt,comprising forming the skirt with an opening to receive the body, andfilling the space between the body and the wall of the pening withfluent material of the same c1 aracter as that from which the insulatoris formed, said assembling being efiected while the skirt and body arein plastic condition whereby said fluent material will unite with thematerial of the body to provide-a s ace, and fi ling said space withclay slip whic will unite with the body and skirt to form a homogeneouswhole.

' 6. The method of assembling the body and skirt of a porcelaininsulator while in plastic condition, comprising forming the body w th atapered portion, forming the skirt with an opening for the reception ofthe tapered portion of the body, the opening being larger at one endthan the adjacentpor'tion of the bodyto provide a space, wett ng thewall of the opening and the tapered portion of the body, and fillingsaid space with clay slip which will unite with the body and skirt toform a homogeneous whole.

7. The method of assembling the skirt of a porcelain insulator upon thebody While in plastic condition, comprising forming the body with atapered seat, forming1 the skirt with a hole in flaring relation to t etapered seat, placing the skirt upon the body with the wall of the holelocated opposite said seat whereby a flaring continuous opening will bedefined about the body, and filling said opening with clay slip.

8. The method of assembling the skirt of a porcelain insulator upon thebody while in plastic condition, comprising forming the body with a taered seat, formin the skirt with a hole in aring relation to t etapered.

seat, placin -the skirt upon the body with the wall 0 the hole locatedopposite said seat whereby a flaring continuous openin will be definedabout the body, filling sai opening with clay sli and permitting theinsulator, to set where y the slip. will unite with the material of theskirt and bod to form a homogeneous mam with no line 0 de marcation atthe original joint.

9. The method of assembling the skirt of a porcelain insulator upon thebody while in (plastic condition, comprising forming the be ywith a tared seat, fiormin the skirt with a hole in aring relation to the ta red,seat, placing the skirtupon the body wit the wall of the hole locatedopposite said seat whereby a flaring continuous opening will be definedabout the body, filling said opening with clay slip, and permitting theinsulator to set whereby the slip will unite with the material of theskirt and body to form a homogeneous mass with no line of demarcation atthe original joint, drying the insulator and then firing.

10." The method of assembling askirt upon the body of a porcelaininsulator while in plastic condition, comprising forming the skirt witha hole, placing the skirt about the body with the bod passing throughsaid hole, and pouring c ay slip between the wall gfdthe hole and theadjacent portion of the 11. The method of assembling a skirt upon thebodyof a porcelain insulator while both are in plastic condition,comprising forming a hole -in the skirt to receive the body, shaplug-thebody to reduce its diameter at a portion within the confines of saidhole to provide a space between the body and the wall of the hole, andpouring into said space fluent material similar to that from which thebody and skirt are formed whereby to unite the body and skirt into ahomo eneous structure.

12. The method of assembling a skirt upon the body of'a porcelaininsulator while both are in plastic condition, comprising forming a holein the skirt, inserti the body thou 11 said hole, defining as we etweenthe ho y and the wall of the space with fluent material of the samecharacter as that from which the skirt and body areiformed. v

In testimony whereof I- aflix my signature.

KENT A. HAWLEY.

ole, and filling said

